Day 2 Friday Apr 18

Saigon Jade Emperor Pagoda, Pink Church Tân Định, Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, Post office, Book street, HCMC Fine Arts Museum, Minh Dang Quang Pagoda

Saigon Jade Emperor Pagoda/ Ngọc Hoàng Pagoda

Built in 1909 in honour of the supreme Taoist god (the Jade Emperor or King of Heaven, Ngoc Hoang), this is one of the most atmospheric temples in Ho Chi Minh City

It is a very popular temple which all the tour groups visit, so we went there first thing in the morning around 8AM. We were the only visitors there, apart from a couple of local devotees

Upstairs is a hall with Quan Am, the Goddess of Mercy

Out the door on the left-hand side of the Jade Emperor’s chamber is another room. It is presided over by Thanh Hoang, the Chief of Hell; to the left is his red horse. Other figures here represent the gods who dispense punishments for evil acts and rewards for good deeds.

The room also contains the famous Hall of the Ten Hells, carved wooden panels illustrating the varied torments awaiting evil people in each of the Ten Regions of Hell.

Presiding over the room is Kim Hoa Thánh Mẫu (the Goddess of Fertility) along with 12 midwives who oversee childbirth and 13 monks. This is why the pagoda is renowned for its highly effective prayers for fertility.

Ceramic figures of 12 women, overrun with children and wearing colourful clothes, sit in two rows of six. Each of the women exemplifies a human characteristic, either good or bad (as in the case of the woman drinking alcohol from a jug). Each figure represents a year in the 12-year Chinese astrological calendar.

Tân Định Catholic Church/Pink Church

We took a Grab taxi to the Pink Church

dates to the 1870s & is known for its vibrant pink facade, blue tiled spires, domes, Gothic pillars

The church is primarily open to the public ONLY during mass times. It was a pretty sight to see the exterior facade

Vĩnh Nghiêm Pagoda

We took a Grab taxi to Vĩnh Nghiêm Pagoda

Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City carries the name and heritage of its counterpart in Bac Giang, a renowned center of Truc Lam Zen Buddhism in Northern Vietnam.

Standing in the middle of this yard is a remarkable statue of Guanyin. A devotee was releasing a cage full of sparrows !

Koi fish pond

The grand tower within Vinh Nghiem Pagoda serves as a storage place for sacred relics

Watched the chanting by the monks... lovely!

Pomello fruits

We rang this bell after seeing some devotees do it

Dragon balustrade

Saigon Central Post Office / Bưu điện Trung tâm Sài Gòn

We took a Grab to this square

The building was constructed 1886 to 1891 when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the late 19th century. It has Gothic, Renaissance and French influences.

SOUVENIRS

The post office has a lot of shops with classy souvenirs, we bought a couple of small silk [POLYESTER!] purses

Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon

We walked over to look at the cathedral which is in the same square

Established by French colonists who initially named it the Church of Saigon (French: l'Eglise de Saïgon), the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880.

Under renovation now

BOOK STREET

We walked over to the Book Street. This pedestrian street lined with bookstores, stationery shops, and cafés

Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts

We took a Grab to the museum. The museum covers three three-floor buildings which house a collection featuring Vietnamese art works in sculpture, oil, silk painting and lacquer painting, woodcut paintings , as well as Vietnamese ceramics and a collection of ancient Buddhist art

Lacquer painting...'Vuon Xuan Trung Nam Bac,' Vietnam's largest lacquer work

'Vuon Xuan Trung Nam Bac,' Vietnam's largest lacquer work, took Nguyen Gia Tri 20 years to finish and is considered one of his greatest works. It depicts a spring festival with revelers donning different traditional costumes from localities across Vietnam. The HCMC administration bought the masterpiece in 1991 for US$100,000 and it has been on display at the Fine Arts Museum ever since.